


Embrace

by TriDogMom



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Healthy Female Friendships, Photography, Self Confidence, Self-Discovery, empowerment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28723269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriDogMom/pseuds/TriDogMom
Summary: Encouraged by her friend, Luna, Hermione sets up a photo shoot to find her inner fire again.
Relationships: Hermione Granger & Katie Bell, Hermione Granger & Luna Lovegood
Comments: 42
Kudos: 47
Collections: Magic Begins From Within - A Dumbledore's Armada Flash Fest Challenge





	Embrace

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Magic_Begins_From_Within](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Magic_Begins_From_Within) collection. 



> Written for the Magic Begins From Within - A Dumbledore's Armada Flash Fest. 
> 
> Prompt: Do/plan something that gets your blood pumping.

* * *

"Merlin above, Luna." Hermione turned her head to the side, taking in the picture from another angle. "You look amazing."

"You should do it, Hermione," Luna said earnestly. "It was a wonderful experience."

"I'm not brave enough," Hermione replied, trying to shift the conversation away from her.

"You rode a dragon but you won't pose naked?"

"Well," Hermione said, avoiding Luna's gaze, "that was different. Split-second decision because I didn't want to die."

She could feel Luna's eyes on her as she turned the page in the photo album. Luna had done a naked photoshoot the month before and had just received her pictures back. She looked like a nymph in the woods, mud smeared on her pale skin and flowers in her hair. Hermione let out a low whistle as she looked at the next picture of Luna walking out of a forest pond, her wet skin seeming to glow in the moonlight and sparkled like starlight with each step.

"And when was the last time you did anything that made your skin flush, your blood boil, your heart race because you were pushing yourself past the limits you've imposed?" Luna asked her. "You're not living, my friend. You've lost your inner fire, your drive."

As always, Luna saw past the face she showed the world to the apathy that lived within her. Hermione wasn't disappointed in her life, but she wasn't happy either. Her life was just… there. No highs, no lows. She didn't take risks. She was just existing.

The idea of posing naked for anyone had her heart racing. Fear coursed through her body at the judgement that would come from the photographer, the way she'd look in the pictures, and Merlin forbid if anyone she knew saw her. She would die from embarrassment.

The energy rushing through her body caused her to pause. Luna was right. When was the last time she'd felt like this? Felt alive? Her childhood had been full of adventure and crazy decisions but she left that all behind to sit at a desk writing laws day after day. She had been missing that rush of blood—the pounding of her heart—that proved she was alive.

"Do you have the photographer's information?"

* * *

Hermione looked from the letter in her hand to the Portkey on her kitchen table and back, butterflies rioting in her stomach and her heart beating loudly in her ears.

She was supposed to leave in three minutes to be whisked away for a long weekend and her photoshoot. She'd spent the last week communicating with the photographer, and Draco Malfoy's wife, Katie Bell. They'd hung out over the years and were friends but were not close and she had no idea that she was a photographer. When Katie had asked where she wanted to be photographed Hermione had thought about Luna. So perfectly situated around nature and wanted something like that. Something that showed her in the elements but she wasn't able to ask for it. Instead, she suggested the Malfoy library. Katie was adamant that there was more to her than just books. She'd suggested different locations but Hermione hadn't been able to pick one.

Deciding to shut her brain off for once and put her trust in someone else, Hermione had told her to pick the place. With one condition—it had to be remote and warded.

The small palm tree keychain on her table began to glow blue and before she could second guess herself, Hermione grabbed it and let it pull her away. If nothing else, the two of them could hang out for the weekend.

The spinning lasted longer than she expected and she stumbled as she appeared on a white sandy beach, the sun bright in her eyes and glistening off the turquoise water. She had no clue where she was, but with the way it looked, she really didn't care at the moment.

"Hermione!" Katie called, jogging over to her.

"Hi, Katie," she greeted her. "Where are we?"

"Seychelles. Malfoy's have a home here. Completely warded and we have the only two Portkeys."

"It's beautiful. And so remote." Her heartbeat slowed as she realised no one would see her here.

"The house is, but there's a village not far away. I thought tonight we could go out for drinks then start shooting tomorrow and the next day. You want to be well-rested because I don't use makeup. I want to showcase your natural beauty."

* * *

Hermione opened her eyes to the early morning sun and stretched. They'd gone out the night before, riding bikes the two miles into town and spent the evening eating and chatting with the locals. Nerves coursed through her body at the thought of what she would be doing later but she pushed them down.

She was a strong, independent, bad-ass woman and she was going to let Katie capture that.

At least that is what she told herself to force her out of bed and into the shower to ready herself for the day. The reality was that she was a frumpy bookworm that was only successful at kicking ass when it came to researching obscure laws.

After casting a special drying and styling charms to her hair that would keep her wash-and-go look without waiting hours for her hair to dry, she donned her favourite black and white bikini, threw on a pair of jean shorts, and walked into the main part of the house. She saw Katie on the patio looking at the ocean and went out to join her. They talked over the plan for the day and Hermione's thumping heart calmed when Katie said they would start with her clothes on to get her comfortable in front of the camera then progress from there.

"Are you ready?" Katie asked.

"I guess," she lied. She wasn't ready at all. "Where do you want me."

"Let's just walk around and I'll take some test shots for the lighting and see what works."

Hermione wasn't sure she believed in Katie's approach when after twenty minutes of walking around, leaning against things and trying to look sexy, she still felt stupid. Hermione was half sitting on a railing when Katie started chuckling.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I walked in on Lucius wanking by the pool?" Katie asked before launching into a hilarious story about her father-in-law. Hermione was still laughing when she heard the camera click. "Merlin, you're gorgeous, Hermione. Let's go develop this last shot because I think it was perfect."

When Katie handed her the photo a few minutes later Hermione was shocked at the image she had captured. Her hair was full from the ocean breeze and her smile was large, her white teeth on display. She looked more like a swimsuit model than the researcher she really was.

"How did you get me to look like that?" she asked. "Does your camera edit as it shoots?"

"It's not edited. I told you I wanted to capture your natural beauty. _This_ is what you look like. As women, we're told that we're never good enough. We need more makeup, need to lose weight, need to do a million other things to be beautiful. But this… this right here is true beauty. Embrace it, Hermione."

She looked at the image in her hand again. Maybe Katie was right. Maybe it didn't matter that Witch Weekly didn't think her natural hair was pretty, said that her boobs were too small, or she was too smart. Maybe all she needed to be beautiful, powerful, and bad-ass was to remember that she already was.

"Where do you want me next, Katie?"

* * *

**One month later**

Hermione was sitting on her sofa when her Floo flared to life and Luna walked out of her fireplace. She had been excitedly awaiting the arrival of her friend because Katie had sent over the album with her pictures earlier in the day but she had wanted to wait until Luna was there to look at them.

"Hermione," Luna greeted her, "you look amazing. You have your fire back, your aura has shifted."

"Hi, Luna. I feel better. I can't thank you enough for encouraging me to have my picture taken. It was the most amazing experience of my life." Hermione hugged her friend. "Katie just sent the pictures over. Would you like to look at them with me?"

"Yes, please."

Hermione poured them each a glass of wine before picking the album up and running her hand over the cover. She was equal parts excited and nervous to see the images Katie had captured of her. Her heart was pumping as she removed the ribbon around the package. Taking a deep breath, she opened the box and pulled the book from it.

The first page was the picture Katie had shown her before but instead of the still image, her hair was moving in the breeze and her body was shaking with silent laughter. Luna complimented the picture before they moved to the next page. There were a few of her in the same black and white bikini before there was finally one where she was in nothing but the white thong bottoms.

She was laying on a poolside chair, her side to the camera, looking over her shoulder. Her hair was in a high ponytail, her curls wild. She was still, her gaze intense as the shadows from the palm trees danced over her skin and the water rippled behind her.

Luna turned the page and a small gasp left her as she ran her finger down the next image.

"Oh, Hermione. This is beautiful."

Sitting on the shore of the beach, her knees were pulled up against her chest and her legs were crossed at mid-calf. Her dark skin was glistening in the sun as she pushed her wet hair back from her face. A wave moved into the frame, the shallow water swirling around her before receding and the loop started over again.

"I can't believe how talented Katie is," Hermione said, her eyes admiring the strength of the pose.

"She can't capture something that isn't there. All she did was show you what I already knew was inside you."

"Thank you, Luna." She squeezed her friend's hand.

They flipped through the rest of the pages, stopping on the last one; a still image of her naked on one of the bikes, the beach and town out of focus in the background. The angle of her arm and leg kept her most private parts covered, but her arse was on full display and she ran a finger over the stretch marks that lined her hips.

Instead of hating them, of seeing the imperfection of them, all she could see was the happiness on her face—the way her body looked soft and powerful at the same time.

After seeing the first image Katie had captured of her, Hermione had relaxed. Finding her inner goddess, she'd posed in fewer and fewer clothes until she'd finally been brave enough to do a few pictures fully nude.

She'd returned to England a changed woman.

It was as if each article of clothing she removed was a societal expectation of who she was, who she was supposed to be. And under all of it was the real her. That inner strong, independent, _bad-ass_ woman that she had tried to convince herself she was. Except now it wasn't a lie she was telling herself to feel better. Now she _felt_ better because she was finally able to see who she really was.

As she went to put the album back in the box, a piece of parchment caught her eye and she pulled it out.

> _Hermione,_
> 
> _Thank you for allowing me the privilege to photograph you. I hope you enjoyed the experience and get as much pleasure from these pictures as I got from taking them. Remember, the woman in this album is who you really are._
> 
> _Embrace it._
> 
> _Katie_
> 
> * * *

**Author's Note:**

> All the thanks to my beta LashesToAshes on this story.
> 
> If you've ever considered having professional pictures of yourself done - boudoir or portrait - I highly recommend it. This is something I have done a few times and I can't tell you how life-changing it is. Remember that you are all beautiful and should embrace your inner and outer beauty.


End file.
